Field Partnerships for Applied Research
Fact Sheet
ACTION is a model field-based research designed to promote innovation in
health care delivery by accelerating the diffusion of research into practice. The
ACTION network includes 15 large partnerships and collaborating organizations
that provide health care to more than 100 million Americans.
Select for ACTION Project Awards in 2008, 2007, and 2006.
ACTION's goals, partners, and research opportunities are summarized in this
fact sheet.
Select to download the print version (PDF File, 450 KB). PDF Help.
Contents
Introduction
Mission
Program Characteristics
Resources
Topics and Research Opportunities
Concept Nominations and Information
Introduction
Often health services research findings are not implemented in practice and, thus, fail to improve the quality of health care that Americans receive. With its program, Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks (ACTION), the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ) places the responsibility of investing in the implementation of good ideas, once proven, directly on those who produce, use, and fund such research.
ACTION is a 5-year implementation model of field-based research that fosters public-private collaboration in rapid-cycle, applied studies. With a goal of turning research into practice, ACTION links many of the Nation's largest health care systems with its top health services researchers.
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Mission
ACTION promotes innovation in health care delivery by accelerating the development,
implementation, diffusion, and uptake of demand-driven and evidence-based
products, tools, strategies and findings. ACTION develops and diffuses scientific
evidence about what does and does not work to improve health care delivery
systems. It provides an impressive cadre of delivery-affiliated researchers
and sites with a means of testing the application and uptake of research
knowledge. ACTION is the successor to the Integrated Delivery System Research Network (IDSRN), a 5-year implementation initiative completed in 2005.
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Program Characteristics
ACTION includes 15 large partnerships (i.e., 15 prime contractors),
each with a demonstrated capacity to "turn research into practice" for
proven interventions targeting those who manage, deliver or receive health
care services. As a network, ACTION provides health
services in a wide variety of organizational care settings to at least
100 million Americans.
The ACTION partnerships span all States and provide access to large numbers
of providers, major health plans, hospitals,
long-term care facilities, ambulatory care settings, and other care sites.
Each partnership includes health care systems with large, robust databases,
clinical and research expertise, and the authority to implement health care
interventions (Box).
ACTION focuses on a wide variety of demand-driven, practical, applied topics
of interest to the partnerships' own operational leaders as well as the project
funders. The program emphasizes projects that are broadly responsive to user
needs and operational interests and which are expected to be generalizable
across a number of settings.
ACTION partnerships operate under multi-year cost reimbursement contracts.
Proposals are solicited on a rolling basis throughout each of several years.
Projects are rapid cycle; they are awarded under separate task orders and are
completed within 15 months, on average.
ACTION Partners and Their Collaborators
Partner: Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Collaborators: Geisinger
Health System; Partners Health Care; Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center;
Maine Health Information Center; Hearthstone Alzheimer Care, Ltd.; Qualidigm;
Quality Partners of Rhode Island; Altarum Institute; National Committee for
Quality Assurance; Center for Information Therapy
Partner: American Association of Homes and Services
for the Aging, Washington, DC
Collaborators: Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society;
International Severity Information Systems; Institute for Clinical Outcomes
Research; Kansas University Medical Center; Penn State Center for Health
Care and Policy Research; Quality Partners of Rhode Island
Partner: American Institutes for Research, Silver Spring, MD
Collaborators: Carilion Health System; Geisinger Health
System; Hospital Corporation of America; Mayo Clinic; VCU Health
Systems; Clinical Resource Consultants, LLC; L&M Policy Research, LLC;
Texas A&M University; Virginia Commonwealth University
Partner: Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WI
Collaborators: University of Wisconsin Medical School-Milwaukee
Clinical Campus; Center for Urban Population Health; Urban Institute; Danya
International, Inc.; University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute;
University of Wisconsin Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering;
University of Wisconsin School of Nursing; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
College of Nursing
Partner: Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Collaborators: Four Veterans Integrated
Delivery System Networks (VISNs 1, 3, 22, 23) in New England, New York/New
Jersey, Southern California, Midwest; Boston Medical Center; Hennepin County
Medical Center; Montefiore Medical Center
Partner: Denver Health, Denver, CO
Collaborators: Harborview Medical Center; Hennepin County
Medical Center; New York City Health and Hospital Corporation; Parkland Health
and Hospital System; University of Colorado Hospital
Partner: Health Research and Educational Trust, Chicago, IL
Collaborators: Arizona State University; Boston University
School of Public Health; GroupHealth Cooperative; Harvard Medical School
Department of Health Care Policy; New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate
School of Public Service; Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management;
The Ohio State University School of Public Health; The University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health; The Wharton School University
of Pennsylvania; University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health;
University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health; University
of California, San Francisco, Institute for Health Policy Studies School
of Medicine; University of Colorado at Denver Business School; University
of Maryland; University of Michigan School of Public Health; University of
Missouri School of Medicine; University of Southern California School of
Policy, Planning and Development; University of Washington School of Medicine;
University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine;
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota; Blue Shield of California; Priority
Health; Sharp Health Plan; Highmark Blue Shield; Lehigh Valley; Catholic
Healthcare Partners; HCA Healthcare; Inland Northwest Health Services; John
Muir/Mount Diablo Health System; Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network;
Parkland Health and Hospital System; PeaceHealth; Providence Services; Sharp
Healthcare; Spectrum Health; Sutter Health, Center for Health Management
Research
Partner: Indiana University (IU), Indianapolis, IN
Collaborators: Regenstrief Institute; IU Center for
Health Services and Outcomes Research; VA Center for the Implementation of
Evidence Based Practice; IU Center for Aging Research; Indiana Children's
Health Services Research; Diabetes Prevention and Control Center; IU Medical
Group-Primary Care Research Network; National Opinion Research Center; Regenstrief
Center for Healthcare Engineering; Roudebush VAMC, Indianapolis Coalition
for Patient Safety, Clarian Health Partners, Wishard Health Services, IU
Medical Group
Partner: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
Collaborators: Alliance of Community Health Plans; American
Medical Directors Association Foundation; Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation
and HSR Alliance; CIGNA; Highmark, Inc.; Centinela-Freeman Medical Center;
Children's Physicians Medical Group; Consumers Advancing Patient Safety;
Dia de la Mujer Latina, Inc.; Harbor-UCLA Medical Center; Hennepin County
Medical Center; Institute of Family-Centered Care; Kelsey Research Foundation
and Kelsey-Seybold Clinic; Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
– Public Health; Lumetra; Marshfield Clinic; MedStar Health; National Association
of County and City Health Officials; National Committee for Quality Assurance;
NIMH UCLA/RAND Center for Quality in Managed Care; Rochester IPA; San Francisco
Department of Public Health Community Health Network; SSM Health Care; Strong
Healthcare/University of Rochester Medical Center; University of California-Los
Angeles Healthcare; University HealthSystem Consortium; Veterans Affairs
(VA) Center for the Study of Healthcare Provider Behavior (Los Angeles);
VA Comprehensive Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Washington, DC; WellPoint, Inc.
Partner: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Collaborators: Baylor Health Care System; Intermountain
Healthcare; Providence Health System; UNC Health Care System; UPMC Health
System
Partner: The CNA Corporation, Alexandria, VA
Collaborators: Sentara Healthcare; Thomas Jefferson
University; Virginia Health Quality Center; Center for Excellence in Aging
and Geriatric Health; Ivan Walks and Associates
Partner: University of California at San Francisco, School of Medicine,
San Francisco, CA
Collaborators: Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research
Institute; Sutter Health Institute for Research and Education
Partner: University of Iowa Center for Health Policy and Research, Iowa
City, IA
Collaborators: Trinity Health; Veterans Affairs VISN15
(the Veterans Affairs Heartland Network); Iowa Foundation for Medical Care;
Iowa Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program; Iowa Hospital Association;
Iowa Healthcare Collaborative
Partner: Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
Collaborators: New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Healthcare
System; Visiting Nurse Service of New York; Columbia University; New York
Association of Homes and Services for the Aging; Group Health Incorporated
Partner: Yale New Haven Health Services Corporation, New Haven, CT
Collaborators: Yale University Schools of Medicine,
Management and Public Health; Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations; VHA (formerly the Voluntary Hospital Association); World Association
for Disaster and Emergency Management; Connecticut Primary Care Association;
Dartmouth Medical School New England Center for Emergency Preparedness
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Resources
AHRQ is interested in hearing from organizations that may wish to sponsor, or suggest sponsors, for one or more projects.
In 2005, 67 percent of support for ACTION's predecessor program, the IDSRN, was obtained from funding sources external to AHRQ. Funders have included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, HHS Office of Minority Health/Office of the Secretary, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
AHRQ anticipates that sources and amounts for ACTION funding may be similar to those of the IDSRN. Between 2000 and 2005, AHRQ awarded approximately $26 million in funds to 93 projects conducted by 9 IDSRN partnerships.
Select for ACTION Project Awards in 2006.
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Topics and Research Opportunities
AHRQ actively seeks input on research topics for consideration in developing
future ACTION projects. Of particular interest are topics that fit within
ACTION's unique research niche and have clear and direct relevance to practice,
public policy, and/or the organization and management of health care delivery.
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Concept Nominations and Information
To nominate concepts for projects, send a 1- to 2-page
description to Cynthia Palmer, ACTION Program Officer, via E-mail (Cynthia.Palmer@ahrq.hhs.gov). Each concept
should include:
- Brief rationale for the study.
- Suggested methods (if known).
- Description of how findings may improve health care delivery/health outcomes (i.e., how this work will help "turn research to practice").
- Timeframe (12 to 18 months maximum).
- Estimated total budget.
For more information about ACTION, project sponsorship, or concept nomination
procedures, please contact:
Cynthia Palmer, M.Sc.
ACTION Program Officer
Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD, 20850
Cynthia.Palmer@ahrq.hhs.gov
Details on the ACTION solicitation can be viewed in AHRQ's online contract
archive at: http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/contrarch.htm.
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AHRQ Publication No. 06-P011
Current as of April 2006
Internet Citation:
Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks (ACTION): Field Partnerships for Applied Research. Fact Sheet, AHRQ Publication No. 06-P011. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/action.htm